Thorium Reactors: The Future of Nuclear Energy, By Brian Simpson and James Reed

Nuclear energy has long been a polarising topic. While it offers a powerful solution to meet global energy demands with minimal carbon emissions, critics point to safety risks, high costs, radioactive waste, proliferation dangers, resource scarcity, and public fear as reasons to steer clear. However, a new wave of innovation in thorium-based nuclear reactors is addressing these concerns head-on, positioning thorium as a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable alternative to traditional uranium reactors. From China's groundbreaking molten salt reactor to the U.S.-developed ANEEL fuel, thorium technology is redefining nuclear energy's potential. In this blog piece we examine how thorium reactors overcome the key objections to nuclear power and why they could be the key to a clean energy future, ending the insane drive by the woke Greens for solar and wind turbines.

One of the most persistent objections to nuclear energy is the fear of catastrophic meltdowns, fuelled by disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Thorium reactors offer a compelling solution through innovative design. China's experimental 2-megawatt molten salt thorium reactor, located in the Gobi Desert, is described as meltdown-proof. Unlike traditional uranium reactors, which use water under high pressure as a coolant, this reactor employs molten salt as both coolant and fuel carrier. This design operates at lower pressures and incorporates passive safety systems that naturally shut down the reactor if something goes wrong, reducing the risk of accidents.

Additionally, thorium reactors, including those using the U.S.-developed ANEEL fuel, operate at lower temperatures and have higher melting points than uranium reactors. This makes core meltdowns far less likely, addressing one of the public's biggest fears about nuclear energy. By valuing inherent safety, thorium reactors pave the way for a new era of nuclear power that regulators and communities can trust.

Another major critique of nuclear energy is its high cost and long construction timelines. Building a uranium-based reactor can take decades and billions of dollars, discouraging investment. Thorium technology tackles this issue through efficiency and adaptability. The ANEEL fuel, a thorium-based innovation developed through a U.S. partnership, can be used in existing boiling water and pressurised water reactors, as well as heavy water reactors. This compatibility reduces the need for entirely new infrastructure, enabling faster deployment.

Moreover, ANEEL fuel achieves a dramatically higher fuel burn-up rate, 55,000 megawatt-days per ton compared to just 7,000 for uranium fuel. This means the fuel lasts much longer in the reactor, reducing the frequency of costly shutdowns for refuelling. For perspective, some heavy water reactors have operated for over 960 days without interruption. China is also scaling up, with a 10-megawatt thorium reactor planned to be operational by 2030. These advancements make thorium reactors not only more affordable but also more practical for meeting urgent energy demands.

The long-lived radioactive waste produced by uranium reactors is a significant barrier to nuclear energy's acceptance. Plutonium, a byproduct of uranium reactors, has a half-life of about 24,000 years and requires secure storage for millennia. Thorium reactors drastically reduce this problem. The ANEEL fuel, for instance, cuts plutonium waste by over 80%, producing far less hazardous material. Additionally, thorium's waste has a shorter half-life compared to uranium-235's staggering 700 million years, simplifying long-term storage.

Remarkably, thorium reactors can also consume existing plutonium stockpiles from uranium reactors, turning a liability into an asset. This ability to "burn" legacy waste addresses one of nuclear energy's most pressing challenges, making thorium a game-changer for waste management and environmental sustainability.

Critics of nuclear energy often highlight the risk of proliferation, as uranium reactors produce byproducts that can be used in nuclear weapons. Thorium reactors sidestep this issue entirely. The byproducts of thorium-based reactions are not suitable for weapons, significantly reducing the risk of misuse. This makes thorium an attractive option for countries developing nuclear programs, as it aligns with global non-proliferation goals and eases concerns about geopolitical instability.

Uranium's finite supply raises questions about the long-term viability of nuclear energy. Thorium, however, is far more abundant, with over twice as much thorium as uranium in the Earth's crust. In countries like India, thorium is four times more plentiful than uranium, supporting energy independence. Like uranium, thorium can also be extracted from seawater, making it a nearly inexhaustible resource. This abundance ensures that thorium reactors can power the world's energy needs for centuries, addressing concerns about resource scarcity and supporting scalability for both developed and developing nations.

Public fear, driven by historical nuclear accidents and concerns about waste, has fuelled political resistance to nuclear energy. Thorium's cleaner, safer, and proliferation-free profile helps shift this narrative. Its meltdown-proof design, minimal waste, and lack of weapons-grade byproducts make it more appealing to communities and policymakers. The global momentum behind thorium, evidenced by China's operational reactor and U.S. advancements in ANEEL fuel, signals growing confidence in its potential. As energy crises, like those triggered by geopolitical conflicts, highlight the need for reliable clean energy, thorium is well-positioned to gain broader acceptance.

Despite their promise, thorium reactors face challenges. Developing the technology requires overcoming technical complexities, as seen in China's efforts to build on decades-old U.S. research. Scaling thorium reactors globally will demand significant investment and infrastructure. Public education is also critical to dispel lingering nuclear stigma and highlight thorium's unique benefits.

Yet the potential is undeniable. Thorium reactors produce more energy per unit of fuel than uranium, are compatible with existing reactor designs, and offer a sustainable solution for the 50 countries exploring nuclear programs. By addressing safety, cost, waste, proliferation, resource, and perception challenges, thorium reactors are poised to lead a nuclear renaissance, and end the solar and wind turbine nonsense.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/china-unveils-worlds-1st-meltdown-proof-thorium-reactor

Authored by Alex Kimani via OilPrice.com,

Chinese scientists achieved a breakthrough in clean energy technology by adding fresh fuel to an operational thorium reactor.

The 2-megawatt experimental reactor is located in the Gobi Desert.

The experimental reactor uses molten salt as the coolant and fuel carrier, with thorium as the fuel source.

Chinese scientists have achieved a significant milestone in clean energy tech after successfully adding fresh fuel to an operational thorium molten salt reactor, Chinese state media has reported. According to Guangming Daily, the 2-megawatt experimental reactor is located in the Gobi Desert, and the latest milestone puts China at the forefront in the race to build a practical thorium reactor–long considered a more abundant and safer alternative to uranium. More significantly, China has relied heavily on long-abandoned American research in the field. In the 1960s, American scientists built and tested molten salt reactors, but Washington eventually shelved the program in favor of uranium-based technology.

"The US left its research publicly available, waiting for the right successor. We were that successor," project chief scientist Xu Hongjie said.

"Rabbits sometimes make mistakes or grow lazy. That's when the tortoise seizes its chance," he added.

The experimental reactor uses molten salt as the coolant and fuel carrier, with thorium as the fuel source. For decades, thorium has been billed as the 'great green hope' of clean energy production, thanks to qualities such as producing less waste and more energy than uranium, is meltdown-proof, has no weapons-grade by-products and can even consume legacy plutonium stockpiles.

According to Xu, his team chose the harder--but more meaningful--path by building a real-world solution rather than chasing only academic results.

"We chose the hardest path, but the right one," he said. Xu and his team recreated old experiments by studying declassified American documents, and then developed the technology further.

"We mastered every technique in the literature – then pushed further," he said.

China is already building a much larger 10-megawatt thorium reactor, scheduled to reach criticality by 2030. Nuclear energy has been enjoying a renaissance of thanks to the energy crisis triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine.

A thorium breakthrough

The milestone by Beijing will no doubt shake up Washington, which has for years been experimenting with thorium. The United States Department of Energy (DOE), Nuclear Engineering & Science Center at Texas A&M and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have partnered with Chicago-based Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) to develop a new thorium-based nuclear fuel they have dubbed ANEEL. ANEEL, which is short for "Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life" is a proprietary combination of thorium and "High Assay Low Enriched Uranium" (HALEU) that hopes to solve some of nuclear's knottiest problems including high costs and toxic wastes.

ANEEL can be used in traditional boiling water and pressurized water reactors, but performs best when used in heavy water reactors. More importantly, ANEEL reactors can be deployed much faster than uranium reactors.

A key benefit of ANEEL over uranium is that it can achieve a much higher fuel burn-up rate of in the order of 55,000 MWd/T (megawatt-day per ton of fuel) compared to 7,000 MWd/T for natural uranium fuel used in pressurized water reactors. This allows the fuel to remain in the reactors for much longer meaning much longer intervals between shut downs for refueling. For instance, India's Kaiga Unit-1 and Canada's Darlington PHWR Unit hold the world records for uninterrupted operations at 962 days and 963 days, respectively.

The thorium-based fuel also comes with other key benefits. One of the biggest is that a much higher fuel burn-up reduces plutonium waste by more than 80%. Plutonium has a shorter half-life of about 24,000 years compared to Uranium-235's half-life of just over 700 million years. Plutonium is highly toxic even in small doses, leading to radiation illness, cancer and often to death. Further, thorium has a lower operating temperature and a higher melting point than natural uranium, making it inherently safer and more resistant to core meltdowns.

Thorium's renewable energy properties are also quite impressive.

There is more than twice thorium in the Earth's crust as uranium; In India, thorium is 4x more abundant than uranium. It can also be extracted from seawater just like uranium, making it almost inexhaustible.

ANEEL could soon become the fuel of choice for countries that operate CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) and PHWR (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor) reactors such as China, India, Argentina, Pakistan, South Korea, and Romania. These reactors are cooled and moderated using pressurized heavy water.

Another 50 countries (mostly developing countries) have either started nuclear programs or have expressed an interest in launching the same in the near future. Overall, only about 50 of the world's existing 440 nuclear reactors can be powered using this novel fuel."